Panem University
by GCGirl4Life
Summary: "That had to be the cutest thing I've ever seen," Johanna cooed at me. I stuck my tongue out at her, but there was no doubting it: I was falling for Peeta Mellark. Not even a day into college at Panem University, Katniss Everdeen is already being pulled in different directions. And Peeta Mellark isn't making it any easier.
1. Chapter 1

Panem University is…unique I guess you could say. Our school had twelve majors, nicknamed Districts, with sub-majors in each category.

There was the Luxury Major, District 1, where the stuck up rich kids went and learned how to make shiny things or went into the family business. They all had stupid names too. Their parents must have been on crack when they named them. But that really wouldn't surprise me.

There was also the Masonry Major, District 2, where you learned how to make weapons and trains, and, for some reason, Criminal Justice. What Criminal Justice and becoming a police officer had to do with making trains was a mystery to me.

The Electronics Major, District 3, was similar to Masonry in some ways. They made a lot of cars and guns, but they also made, well, electronics. I know they had a Robot Fight Club, where they made robots out of whatever they could find and made them battle each other in makeshift arenas.

Fishing Majors, District 4. These were more of our athletes I guess you could say. A lot of these kids came from the coast and were on the swim team. They also knew how to make nets, fish hooks, and other fishing supplies.

Power Majors, District 5. I still can't figure out what they do, but all I know is they're clever little bastards.

Transportation Major, District 6, is pretty self-explanatory. But a little known secret is that most of them are drug addicts.

The Lumber Majors, District 7, were some scary ass mofos, pardon my French. But these kids made hatchets, axes, saws, et cetera. If it could cut down a tree, these kids knew how to make them. When I visited the school with my mom and sister, Prim, I noted to myself not to mess with them. I also crossed my fingers I didn't get one as a roommate anytime soon.

The Textile Major, District 8, made clothes mostly, but a lot of them made uniforms for our Police Academy kids in District 2.

District 9 were our Farming Majors. Need I say more? You get it, right?

District 10, our Livestock Majors, dealt with the livestock, like cows, pigs, and horses. A lot of kids from 9 and 10 got married after college. And bought – guess what – a farm! Imagine that!

Agriculture Majors, District 11, were the nicest of the bunch in my opinion. They worked with District 9 a lot, and learned how to grow things that grew on trees and out of the ground.

And then, there was my Major, District 12. We did things with coal. We were also the poor kids. If you came from a poor family, or a single parent home, they usually just stuck you in District 12. Since my dad died when I was little, when Prim was just starting kindergarten, my mom kind of went into a zombie-like state for a year, and we've been poor ever since. Even though she's gotten a job at the local doctor's office as a nurse, we're still poor. I pretty much raised Prim and taught her everything she knows. I got her ready for school, made her lunch, checked her homework, and picked her up after school once I was old enough and had a car (which I bought with my own money – savings bonds my dad had been giving me every year on my birthday).

But now, I've graduated high school, and Prim is starting high school. My best friend from back home and neighbor, Gale, promised me he would take her to school and pick her up every day, since he was staying home to start working in his family's business.

Today was move in day for the freshmen at Panem University, and I was dreading every second of it. Mom, Prim, and Gale were dropping me off and helping me unpack. Gale and I were in my car, and Mom and Prim were following us. I picked up my new student packet and keys from the main office, the Capitol it was called, and headed to the Resident Hall for frehsmen.

"I so don't want to do this,' I groaned as I parked my car outside the giant building. Gale laughed and opened his door.

"You'll be alright, Katnip," he said, using my nickname he'd given me when we were kids. "It's just college. What's the worst that could happen?"

"A lot!" I protested. He laughed again, and laughed even harder when I frowned at him and stomped over to the Resident Assistant standing outside the building with a clipboard. His name tag said "Haymitch."

"Name please?" he asked in a bored tone. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, causing me to wrinkle my nose.

"Katniss Everdeen," I replied, turning my head slightly so I wouldn't have to smell Vodka every time he talked to me.

"Room 74, first floor." I nodded my thanks and gestured for Gale to follow me. We headed inside and found my room down the long hallway. Inside were two beds, desks, chairs, a mounted bookshelf, and two closets with dressers and mirrors in them.

"Do you know who your roommate is?" Gale asked, setting down a box by the door.

"Uh…" I opened my packet and pulled out the residency information. "Jo…"

"Johanna Mason, at your service." I jumped and turned, the voice coming from behind me. In walked a girl wielding an axe and a duffel bag. Shit. A District 7. She dropped her stuff on the nearest bed, then turned and stuck out her hand. "And you are?"  
"Katniss Everdeen," I said slowly, shaking her hand. "So you're a District 7?" I asked, gesturing to her axe.

"Yup, this is my baby," she cooed, picking up her axe and spinning it around in her hand. She saw the look on my face and laughed. "Don't look so scared, it's so blunt I can't even cut bread with it. I've just had it since I was little, so I keep it around." She placed it back down on the bed, and strolled out the door. "I'll be right back, gotta get more of my stuff."

"Just my luck to get a 7 my freshmen year," I whispered to Gale. He nodded, and we began unpacking boxes just as Mom and Prim walked in.

"Nice room," Prim commented, setting down her box on my bed.

"Thanks, Little Duck," I said, grinning at her. She smiled and tucked the back of her shirt into her skirt, which she had a habit of forgetting to do, hence the nickname. For the next hour, we unpacked my boxes, hanging up clothes, making the bed, and decorating my half of the room. Johanna met my family and Gale when she came back in, and they seemed to like her. She kinda grew on me too.

"Wanna head to the cafeteria? I'm starved," Johanna stated, putting her axe in the closet.

"Sounds good to me," Gale grinned. "I can always eat."  
"That's because you're a boy," I told him, nudging him in the ribs. The five of us walked to the cafeteria, and once we got inside, I saw how packed it was.

"Dang, lots of freshmen this year," Johanna said. She shrugged, grabbed a tray, and headed off to the salad bar. We followed her lead, and walked around the cafeteria, looking at the different food options. I settled on a burger, waiting in line to grab one. Once the chef handed me my plate, I set it on my tray and turned around, and crashed right into somebody.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry!" A deep voice said. I couldn't see, due to the fact that my water had splashed into my eyes. And I knew my burger was down for the count, judging by the ketchup all down the front of my shirt and the scattered broken plate chips around my sprawled out body on the floor.

"It's okay," I sighed. I wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my shirt. "It happens."  
"It's not okay," the voice said, reaching down and taking my hand to pull me up. "I ruined your food and got it all over you." I looked up, and stopped, startled. Staring back at me were the prettiest eyes I'd ever seen under a mop of blonde hair.

"Uh, no, seriously, it's okay," I mumbled, blushing. He handed me a napkin, and I wiped off the front of my shirt.

"Here, take mine," he said, picking up my tray and balancing it in his hand. He held out his tray, which had an identical burger on it. "I'll take your tray and go get a fresh one."  
"Oh, no, you don't have to do that!" I protested. He smiled softly at me.

"I insist." I looked back into his mesmerizing eyes, and nodded.

"Alright," I said. I think if he had told me to jump off the top of the building I would have done it. He tucked my tray under his arm and held out his hand.

"Peeta Mellark," he grinned.

"Katniss Everdeen," I said, shaking his hand.

"Well, Katniss, is it okay if I join you for lunch?" I nodded quickly, and he laughed. "Alright, cool. I'll be right over." He headed off to the burger bar, and I watched him go. I had to mentally slap myself to stop staring at his butt, and went to sit down. Mom, Prim, Gale, and Johanna were already sitting down eating.

"Katniss, what happened to your shirt?" Mom asked.

"I bumped into this guy and my food fell all over me," I explained. "But he was really nice about it and gave me his food. He's going to come join us for lunch. Is that okay?"

"Of course." Peeta chose that moment to walk up, and slid into the seat next to me.

"Hi, you must be Katniss' Mom," Peeta said, holding out his hand to my mom. "I'm Peeta Mellark."

"Oh _you're _Peeta!" she exclaimed. "Your family owns the bakery in our town!"

"Yup, Mellark Bakery," he laughed. "I worked there after school and during the summer." It suddenly hit me who he was.

One day, during a rainy summer night, I was wandering the streets, looking for food. We didn't have enough money for dinner, and Mom was still in her zombie-state. I collapsed against the back wall of the bakery, next to the dumpster, cold, tired, hungry, and weak.

"PEETA! You burned the bread!" I heard a shrill voice cry. I heard a slap, and heard someone say "ow!" "Go throw it away out back! You know we can't afford to burn anything this month! We're short on funds!"

"I said I was sorry Mom!"

"Well pay attention next time, instead of daydreaming out the window!" The back door opened, and a boy stepped out, holding a basket of half burned loafs. He was grumbling to himself and opening the dumpster lid, when he saw me. I looked back at him, my eyes wide. I was about to scurry away, when he looked at the open door, then reached into the basket and handed me a few of the loafs. He smiled softly and nodded, threw the rest away, then ran back inside. I was stunned for a moment before standing up and running all the way home so the bread wouldn't get soaked. That night, we had grilled cheese sandwiches with the bread he'd given me, and had enough left over for toast and jelly the next morning. He'd kept us alive that night.

I snapped out of my flashback, and listened in on the conversation.

"I'm in District 12 too, up on the boy's floor," Peeta said, taking a bite of his burger. He chewed and swallowed. "But I really don't want to work with coal. I love the family business. I was thinking of joining the Student Government Association and starting a new Major for people who don't want to fit the mold. Could call it District 13."

"That sounds like a good idea," Mom said, nodding at him and smiling. "I hope you're very successful with that."

"Thanks." He turned to me. "What are you interested in Katniss?"

"Oh, um," Have you noticed whenever somebody asks you what you like to do for fun, you sounds like the most boring person on the face of the Earth? "I like archery."

"That's cool. You any good with a bow and arrow?"

"Good? She's excellent!" Gale interjected. "We've gone hunting a couple times, and she's a perfect shot. Gets 'em right in the eye."

"Thank you, Gale," I said, giving him a look that said "You need to shut the hell up right now." He nodded quickly and ducked his head, becoming very interested in what was on his salad.

We all talked for the rest of lunch, until it was time for Mom, Prim, and Gale to head back home. They each gave me a hug and assured me I'd be great. I said goodbye to Peeta, and Johanna and I headed back to our room.

"You going to the Freshmen Social tonight?" she asked me, flopping down on her bed.

"There's a Social?"

"Didn't you read the Week of Events?"

"No."

"Well, if you had, you would've known that," she laughed. "Let's go. I bet there will be a lot of people there. We'll have fun."

"I don't know."

"I bet Peeta will go." I shot her a surprised look. "Oh don't look so surprised, Katniss. It's obvious you like him."

"I do not!" I protested.

"Then what was with the glazed look earlier?"  
"I was remembering her gave me bread one night when I was hungry. It didn't click until then."

"Oh, okay," Johanna shrugged. "But anyways, you wanna go?"

"Sure."

We both took a nap, then got showered and changed for the Social.

"Katniss!" Johanna whined. "You can't wear that to a Social!" I looked down at my dark jeans and simple shirt with combat boots.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Don't you know what a Social is?" I shook my head. "It's a dance!" My mouth dropped open in shock.  
"I don't know how to dance!"

"You don't have to. Most people just socialize, hence why they call it a Social. But you need to wear something cute."

"But Johanna!"

"No buts! Back in the closet!" She pointed at it with a finger, and I sighed. I skimmed through my clothes until I found a one shoulder red dress. I slipped it on after discarding the jeans and shirt, and put on a pair of black heels.

"Better?" I asked, stepping out. Johanna was a long sleeved gold dress.

"Perfect! Let's go!" She grabbed my arm and dragged me all the way to the dance hall where the Social was. Music was already blaring from the speakers, and people were filtering inside.

"Damn, how many kids go to this school?" I asked.

"It's the only University in the state, so a lot," Johanna explained. We went inside, and headed for the drink table. We each grabbed a water, since we were too young to drink.

"Hey, look, there's Peeta," Johanna said, pointing towards the door. "Peeta!" she cried, waving her free arm in the air. Peeta looked over and smiled once he saw it was us.

"Hey Johanna, Katniss. You both look fantastic."

"Thanks. You look nice as well!" Johanna said. He really did, with a dark dress shirt and jeans. I guess guys could get away with it.

"You wanna dance Katniss?" Peeta asked as a slow song came on. I gulped and nodded slowly, and he took my hand, leading me to the floor. He pulled me into his arms and held my close, my head tucked under his chin. We swayed back and forth as Savage Garden sang around us.

"_Maybe it's intuition _

_But some things you just don't question_

_Like in your eyes_

_I see my future in an instant_

_And there it goes_

_I think I've found my best friend_

_I know that it might sound more than_

_A little crazy but I believe_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I think I dreamed you into life_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I have been waiting all my life _

_There's just no rhyme or reason_

_Only this sense of completion_

_And in your eyes_

_I see the missing pieces_

_I'm searching for_

_I think I found my way home_

_I know that it might sound more than_

_A little crazy but I believe_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I think I dreamed you into life_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I have been waiting all my life_

_A thousand angels dance around you_

_I am complete now that I found you_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I think I dreamed you into life_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I have been waiting all my life_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I think I dreamed you into life_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I have been waiting all my life_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I knew I loved you_

_I knew I loved you before I met you_

_I knew I loved you_

_I knew I loved you before I met you…"_

As the song ended, Peeta pulled me back and smiled at me.

"Thanks for the dance, Katniss." He kissed my hand softly. "I'll be right back." He headed off into the crowd, and I scurried back to Johanna.

"That had to be the cutest thing I've ever seen," Johanna cooed at me. I stuck my tongue out at her, but there was no doubting it: I was falling for Peeta Mellark.


	2. Chapter 2

"Alright, class, I'm going to do a quick roll call," Professor Trinket said. I yawned and took a sip of my coffee. It was way too early, in my opinion, for Performing Arts class. Why I had decided to take a Performing Arts class I had no idea in hell why. But hey, at least it got my Creative Arts credit out of the way.

"Cashmere?" A pretty girl with long blonde hair raised her hand, a beauty pageant smile on her face. I rolled my eyes, taking another sip of my coffee. No doubt a 1.

"Gloss?" A boy version of Cashmere raised his hand. "Are you two twins?"

"No ma'am, we are siblings though, and we're very close in age," he said, smiling. Professor Trinket giggled and nodded.

"Very well. Welcome to Performing Arts." She went back to her list.

"Glimmer?" A girl raised her hand.

"Marvel?" Another boy.

"Clove?" Some snooty looking bitch playing with a pocket knife briefly raised her hand, then went back to flipping open and closing the knife. I scooted my chair a little closer to the door.

"Cato?" What the hell, do all these upper level District kids look like snooty assholes? This guy looked like he thought he walked on water.

"Enobaria?" Holy mother of God, I didn't know it was possible for a chick to have teeth that sharp.

"Brutus?" Just a big, muscular guy.

"Bettee? Wiress?" A man and woman raised their hands.

"Finnick?" A good looking guy raised his hand. He saw me looking and winked at me. I rolled my eyes and turned my head away. So full of himself.

"Oh, how do I pronounce this one?"

"Just call me Foxface," a girl piped up. "I know it's hard to pronounce."

"Alright, will do. Johanna?"

"Right here." I was so glad I knew someone in this class. I don't think I could make it the whole semester pretending I liked people.

"Blight?" Some dude with a beard raised his hand, then quickly lowered it.

"Cecilia?" A pretty girl.

"Rue?" A girl who looked like she was Prim's age raised her hand.

"Thresh?" Another big, muscular dude.

"And lastly, Katniss?" I raised my coffee free hand. At that moment, the door opened. In walked Peeta, his hair a little messy, with a backpack slung over one shoulder. He saw Professor Trinket and smiled.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor," he said. "I just got switched into the class a few minutes ago."

"That's quite alright. What's your name?"

"Peeta Mellark."

"Well, Peeta, welcome to Performing Arts. We're glad to have you." Peeta smiled again and nodded, then slipped into the seat next to me.

"Hey," he whispered, grinning. I smiled softly. "What are you doing here? Didn't take you for the Performing Arts type."

"I'm not," I laughed. He did too, until Professor Trinket coughed at us.

"Now, you may call me Effie. I think Professor Trinket is too formal." She then rambled on about the class procedures and what we'd be doing this year. I wasn't really paying attention until I heard her say "partner project."

"You may pick a partner to perform a scene from a Shakespeare classic. I'll give you a few minutes, then I'll need to know who is partnered with who, and what play you'll be doing." She turned away, and the class started conversing.

"So, Katniss, you wanna be partners?" Peeta asked, nudging me with his elbow. "I think it'll be fun."

"Uh…" I sat there for a minute, dumbstruck that the boy I had a huge crush on was asking me to be his partner. I quickly recovered and nodded. "Sure. What play were you thinking of?"

"_Romeo and Juliet _is my favorite," he said. I think I felt my heart stop. "You wanna grab lunch and then practice after class? I don't have any other classes today." I nodded enthusiastically, and he smiled great.

"Alright class, who has a partner and play ready?" Peeta and I raised our hands. "Ah, Katniss, working with Peeta?"

"Yes, Effie."

"And what play will you two be presenting to us?"

"_Romeo and Juliet,_" Peeta replied.

"Oh, my favorite!" Effie grinned. She wrote down our names, then continued on with the other pairs. Once we were dismissed, Peeta and I headed to the cafeteria for lunch. After a quick bite, we went to the library to print out the script.

"Which scene do you wanna do?" Peeta asked me, googling the script on the computer. I decided to be bold and see if he would agree with my suggestion.

"How about Act I, Scene V, where they meet for the first time?" I didn't mention that was also the kissing scene. He looked up at me and grinned.

"Perfect." He clicked print, and once he grabbed the papers off the printer, we headed back to my room, since Johanna had a class.

"Alright, so, I start right?" Peeta asked, shrugging off his jacket and picking up his script. I nodded, and he cleared his throat, sitting next to me on my bed.

"_If I profane with my unworthiest hand_

_This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this:_

_My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand_

_To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss._" This boy had the smoothest, sexiest Shakespearian accent I'd ever heard in my life. I looked down at my script so I wouldn't have to look into his eyes.

"_Good pilgrim, you do wrong your hand too much,_

_Which mannerly devotion shows in this,_

_For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch,_

_And palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss,_" I mumbled. Peeta put his fingers under my chin and lifted it to make me look at him.

"_Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?_"

"Um…_Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer._"

"_O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do._

_They pray; grant thou, lest faith turn to despair._"

"_Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake,_" I whispered.

"_Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take._" He stopped and looked down at the script. "It says then that I'm supposed to kiss you, but I'm sure we don't have to do that until the actual performance. Um…_Thus from my lips, by thine, my sin is purged._" I looked down, disappointed.

"_Then have my lips the sin that they have took,_" I said sadly.

"_Sin from thy lips? O trespass sweetly urged!_

_Give me my sin again._ Oh, then I'm supposed to kiss you again. Well, again, not until the actual performance."

"_You kiss by th' book_." I shut my script and stood up. "I need to use the bathroom." I walked out the door and down the hall to the community bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, I looked at myself, pondering. Why didn't he want to kiss me? Did he like me? I splashed my face with cold water, and dried it off with a paper towel.

_No, he doesn't like you, Katniss_, I told myself. _If he did, he would've kissed you already. _I frowned and threw my paper towel away, then headed back to my room. Peeta was sitting on the bed still, skimming through his script.

"Do you wanna run through it again?" he asked me, grinning a half grin.

"No, I'm kind of tired, I think I'm going to take a nap," I told him firmly. His face fell for a moment, but he smiled softly again.

"Alright, I'll let you sleep. Just come knock on my door whenever you want to rehearse again, or maybe hang out. I'm upstairs, room 74." He waved as he went out the door, then shut it.

As soon as I was sure he was far enough away, I groaned and flopped down on my bed. I heard the door open, and I assumed it was Johanna, since she was the only one who also had a key to our room.

"I hate my life," I mumbled into my pillow.

"Why?" Johanna asked. I sat up and handed her my script. She skimmed it briefly. "_Romeo and Juliet?_ Yeah, I know, this is yours and Peeta's play."

"Look at the scene." She looked down again, and her eyes widened in shock.

"Isn't this the scene where they…?"

"Kiss? Yes. Twice."

"Did he kiss you when you rehearsed? Was he a bad kisser? Is that why you're upset?" She asked, sitting next to me on my bed.

"No, he didn't kiss me. That's why I'm upset," I mumbled.

"He's probably just nervous. He sat right next to you in class and picked you for a partner. He's obviously into you."

"You think so?"

"Of course." I smiled halfheartedly, but didn't really believe her.

"Thanks, Johanna. I guess I'll just see what happens."

"No problem." She leaned over and gave me a quick hug, then stood up and turned on our TV, flopping down on her bed. For the rest of the day, we watched movies, and ended up ordering a pizza for dinner. Haymitch, who was our Resident Assistant and lived upstairs on the boy's floor, made his nightly rounds, slugging back a bottle of dark liquid, which I suspected was some sort of alcohol. But we'd talked a few times when I'd seen him in the hallways and around campus, and he seemed alright. He was helpful when he wanted to be.

Peeta and I continued to rehearse every day after dinner, and I continued to give him the cold shoulder. I insisted on sitting on the other side of the room, which he seemed to not mind. I swear I thought him looking sadly out the window every now and then, but he'd look back at me and smile a quick grin every time I caught him. Pretty soon though, those sad looks were replaced with angry looks.

"Katniss, what hell is going on here?" he asked one day, standing up and throwing his script onto my desk. "You've been acting like you hate me since we started this project. What gives?" I glared at him and stood up too, crossing my arms in front of my chest.

"That's none of your damn business."

"It is my business when you're my partner, and we're supposed to be acting like we're in love!"

"That's all we're doing, is acting. Once this project is over, we don't have to talk to each other again if you'd like," I spat.

"Why don't you wanna talk to me?" he asked.

"It doesn't matter." I walked to the door and went to grab the door knob, when his fingers closed around my wrist. He spun my around, so my back was against the door. He caged me in, his hands on either side of my head.

"Oh no, you're not avoiding me any longer. Tell me what is going on right now."


End file.
